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Bruce, 16, placed first in Division III in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles and long jump.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-area girls swept the top three spots in the Division III long jump event, with fellow Sabercat Azariah Foster and Salpointe Catholic’s Paris Mikinski coming in second and third behind Bruce.

Bruce said she had a great time in her belated return trip to the state track championship. She qualified in four different events as a freshman in 2019; last year’s event was wiped out because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve never had to do prelims and then finals again, so that was a new experience, running the events twice,� Bruce said. “It was actually a lot of fun. I loved competing with all the girls and meeting all these new people.�

Bruce will compete at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Decathlon/Heptathlon State Championship, a two-day event that begins Monday at Mesa Red Mountain High School. She’s ranked first out of more than 20 girls by , which also has her ranked fourth in the nation for the heptathlon.

The heptathlon is split into two days. The 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200-meter dash take place on Monday, with the long jump, javelin and an 800 meters on Tuesday. To prepare for multi-day, multi-event competition, Bruce and her coach came up with a plan of action.

“This past week I’ve been doing warmups and keeping my body loose so I’m ready,� Bruce said. “But during the big part of the season, I switch from two events a day. I’ll do high jump and hurdles one day and then the next day I’ll do throwing. It’s just how I divide my time between each event.�

Bruce isn’t anywhere close to done. After a short break, she’ll be competing in the summer season, either with the AAU or USA Track & Field.

It’s been Bruce’s summer routine since the eighth grade, with the exception of last year.

New this year will be a trip to Oregon’s Hayward Field for the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation’s Outdoor Nationals. She’ll also take a trip to Jacksonville for the USATF’s Junior Olympics at the end of July.

Bruce is looking forward to competing in the summer season, but she’s not quite done savoring Sabino’s accomplishments during last weekend’s meet.

The five scoring members of Sabino’s nine-person team on the girl’s side earned 102 points last weekend, with Milesplit predicting the Sabercats to take first place in the division in next year’s event.

“I’m really proud of my team for placing second (at the state meet),� Bruce said. “Last year, that wasn’t something we could even think about and now... we’re projected to win next year. We’re all looking forward to going farther next year.�

With the track team’s coaches spending a lot of time planning out who would compete in each event, Bruce said a large part of the team’s success is thanks in part to their strategy.

Bruce isn’t the only Sabino track star to shine last weekend: teammate Jade Kwinn placed first in shot put and third in triple jump after winning the Division III javelin championship earlier this month. Her sister, Emerald, finished second in discus and shot put.

Palo Verde’s Abraham Valenzuela successfully defended his title in the 3,200 meters, setting a new personal record with his time of 9:15.09. Valenzuela, who will run for Pima College in the fall, also placed third in the 1,600.

Salpointe’s Mikinski, who placed second in high jump in addition to her third place in long jump, will be competing against Bruce in the multis, as will Sabina Romero, from Division II’s Nogales High School, who placed third in high jump for her division.

“This will be my first multi-event and an opportunity to build off a strong high school track and field season,� Mikinski said. “The field of athletes entered are very talented and this is going to make for an exciting competition.�